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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28293216">hold your horses</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/therentistoodamnhigh/pseuds/therentistoodamnhigh'>therentistoodamnhigh</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Body Horror, Gift Fic, Group Cuddles, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Minor Injuries, Rescue Missions, Unconsciousness, he's a grumbly worry wart of a snek, irish and scottish folklore and mythology, janus is Soft for remus, remus-typical levels of grossness, the irish and the scottish really said 'fuck horses' huh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:22:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28293216</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/therentistoodamnhigh/pseuds/therentistoodamnhigh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Roman tells Logan that he thinks Remus is in danger, so Logan recruits Janus to help him retrieve Remus. The only problem is, Thomas recently learned about creatures like the kelpies and the nuckelavee, and they have to go through Remus' end of the imagination to get him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders &amp; Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders &amp; Logic | Logan Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>TSS Fanworks Collective, TSS Fanworks Collective Discord Secret Santa</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>hold your horses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is a gift for princey_pie on discord in the TSS Fanworks Collective gift exchange! hope you like it &lt;3</p><p>the tss fanworks collective server has a vetting process, so if you wanna join, take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPS7WB7</p><p>i can't say we don't bite but i promise it will be consensual biting only</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Logan didn’t understand why this was such a big deal. They were all imaginary and so any situation they happened to get stuck in they could simply imagine the situation fixed and everything was fine, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently not, it seemed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman had burst into his room in a panic, saying that something was wrong, he could feel it. Logan had learned to trust Roman on vague statements like this; as it turned out, since Roman and Remus were made of the same source material, they had something of a mental connection. It wasn’t very complex, just a basic sense of alarm when the other was in grave danger (or believed they were in grave danger). Remus had come to them enough times before with concern-laced annoyance to say that Roman was getting himself into trouble for Logan to believe Roman when the opposite happened, like today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Usually said ‘trouble’ wasn’t anything too severe, nothing that couldn’t be fixed in an afternoon. However, these troubles usually happened in the Imagination, where belief held powerful sway over common sense. If you believed you were in danger, if you believed that you would get hurt, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> get hurt in the imagination. For this reason, Virgil was hesitant to go into the Imagination unaccompanied ever since he learned the hard way the Imagination was influenced by strong thoughts and feelings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Similarly, Remus could choose whether or not he could be affected by the things he did, and to what degree. If he didn’t want to pass out to blood loss, he wouldn’t. If he wanted to literally spill his guts during a confession, he would be unaffected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when Roman came to Logan about Remus, Logan didn’t understand his distress, but decided to go along with it since a worried Roman led to nothing getting done. That, and Roman was almost never worried about Remus, which was concerning in of itself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were a multitude of entrances to the imagination and they frequently moved around - you were never guaranteed to come out in the same place through the same door every time. However, Janus was the secret keeper, a filter of sorts, and as such he could see and navigate the complicated underpinnings of the Mindscape, and so he was the person to go to when you needed a shortcut to somewhere in the Imagination.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan knocked on Janus’ door, which was set halfway between the dark side and the light side of the Mindscape. (Logan personally thought this was a ridiculous and limiting naming scheme, but he had to admit it was shorter than “the place where the parts of Thomas that Thomas doesn’t want to acknowledge reside” and “the place where the parts of Thomas that he regularly listens to reside”.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few moments, the door opened, revealing Janus who looked as composed as ever. “How can I help you?” he asked smoothly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roman came to me earlier and expressed significant amounts of distress over Remus’ well-being. I was wondering if you knew of a shortcut to Remus’ location,” Logan said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus narrowed his eyes, opening the door a little wider. “Roman never worries about Remus,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan adjusted his glasses. “Yes, I was concerned by that, too. Although I don’t doubt that Remus has every ability to get himself out of danger, I believe it may be in our best interest to help him expedite the process.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus entered the hallway proper, shutting the door behind him, frowning. “Alright, let’s see here,” he murmured. He closed his eyes and as he concentrated, Logan could see the silhouettes of four additional arms fading into view, each of his six hands haloed in a different color. The one outlined in green made a fist and tugged upwards, and after a few more moments the glowing and extra arms disappeared when Janus opened his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s in his end of the Imagination. The doorway in his room will get us closest,” Janus said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent, lead us there,” Logan said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked deeper into the dark side and Janus sighed heavily as they approached Remus’ door - or at least, where his door used to be as far as Logan could tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is something the matter?” Logan asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, just Remus being Remus,” Janus said, gesturing to the large, round-ish hole in the wall and the vaguely red stain on the carpet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” Logan responded, as if that explained everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need to step carefully, it’s not like Remus stores heaps of unidentifiable refuse in his room,” Janus said casually, grimacing when the carpet beneath his shoes squelched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan followed Janus into the room and saw that there were indeed piles of garbage in Remus’ room that stank horribly. Most of the furniture looked rickety and ready to fall apart, except for the bed (which was big and sturdy with a heap of blankets and pillows on top) and one of the wardrobes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus approached this wardrobe and rapped a specific pattern on its wooden surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the password?” said a gravelly voice from within the wardrobe. The wardrobe seemed to move in time with the words, so it was possible the voice was the wardrobe itself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh god, which one is it this time?” Janus groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Is it ‘juicy butthole’ again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A loud, discordant buzzer sounded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it’s not that one it could be damn near anything,” Janus mumbled. “Do I at least get a hint?” he asked a bit louder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what she said,” the wardrobe said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus frowned deeply, staring into the middle distance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan waited patiently as Janus thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Janus said suddenly, startling Logan. “I remember now.” Janus’ posture suddenly changed and he put on a British-sounding voice when he said, “But daddy, I couldn’t possibly take all that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A victory noise sounded and the doors of the wardrobe swung open to reveal the sickly green surface of a portal set into the wood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus’ posture returned to normal and he cleared his throat, adjusting his capelet. “What?” he asked mildly when he saw Logan’s confused expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did- you know what? It doesn’t matter, let’s just go find Remus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well, after you.” Janus said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan eyed the wardrobe warily for a moment before stepping into the portal. His vision was suddenly filled with ever-changing patterns that shifted as soon as he managed to identify it and his stomach lurched like he was falling. As quickly as it started, it had stopped, and Logan found himself stumbling onto dry, brown grass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan stood up straight, getting his bearings while his body’s reactions settled. They seemed to be in a field, but the grass was dried up and crunchy beneath his feet, except for the grass inside perfectly circular rings of mushrooms, which was lush and bright green. There was also a foul smell, which Logan attributed the dead cattle littering the field, and upon which vultures and flies feasted. There was a dark, thickly-wooded forest ahead of them, and a worn path carved by wagon wheels and horse hooves lead into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus’ footsteps crunched beside him. “How… </span>
  <em>
    <span>delightful</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Janus drawled, scrunching up his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced at the dull gray sky above. “It certainly suits him,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As much as I would </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> to spend all day here, we should get going,” Janus said. He closed his eyes, focusing on Remus’ location. After a few moments Janus opened his eyes. “Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> he’s in the forest,” he sighed. “We’re going to be so </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly</span>
  </em>
  <span> safe in the forest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan frowned. “Of course we’re going to be safe, we’re imaginary and thus have nothing to fear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus rolled his eyes. “Not my point. Follow me, I can lead us to Remus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two walked in amicable silence for a few minutes before Logan spoke up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wonder why there are so many fairy rings about, fairies seem more like Roman’s area than Remus’,” Logan mused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because these aren’t Roman’s cute little fairy rings, these are traps made by the fae, who are significantly more dangerous and deadly,” Janus responded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, Thomas did learn a lot about the fae and other gruesome folklore creatures the other day,” Logan recalled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s hardly been able to talk about anything else, I wouldn’t be surprised if we ran into some of them here,” Janus said, glancing about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll keep watch for them so we can be prepared in case we run into any of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The forest wasn’t too far away, so a few more minutes of walking had them inside the dark forest, following the worn path.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The change in atmosphere was almost immediate - the field was full of ambient noise, and they could look around to see if anything was coming for them, but in the forest the air was dead and still, and their footsteps seemed loud in the quiet. Logan felt watched, and he couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder every now and again. Logan found himself walking closer to Janus, close enough that he could occasionally feel the brush of cotton-covered knuckles against his own. Even Janus seemed twitchier in the forest, his eyes darting about and peering into the darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus suddenly stopped walking, tilting his head to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something wrong?” Logan asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s something coming,” Janus said, a tinge of fear to his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan listened, and for a moment he couldn’t hear anything new, but then he heard it - the distant thunder of hooves and wheels. It came from behind them, and with every moment that passed it became louder and louder until the source of the sound came into view: headless horses leading a carriage made largely of bones with a headless driver and headless passengers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus roughly dragged him to the edge of the path, out of the way of the carriage, only for the horses to slow to a stop next to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan got a better look at the passengers, a man and a woman, and saw that they were wearing mid-19th century clothing and delicately holding their heads on their laps, the cloth beneath the heads dark with blood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing all the way out here, dearie?” asked the lady passenger with an accent that sounded vaguely british.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re looking for our friend Remus,” Logan told them. “We believe he may be in danger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus is the one that runs the place, isn’t he?” the other passenger asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is correct,” Logan said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well in that case, the dullahan here could give you a ride to ‘im,” the first passenger replied brightly, gesturing with one hand to the driver.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan opened his mouth to respond but Janus cut in. “Thank you, but we’re not interested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure, dear? I’ve seen the nuckelavee wandering around these parts and you really don’t want to be caught out with him,” she said, fussing with her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This gave Janus pause. “What was the nuckelavee again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan adjusted his glasses. “The nuckelavee, also known as ‘the devil of the sea’, is a creature that was thought to be the source of many troubles in the Northern Isles of Scotland. It’s appearance is that of a human torso melded into the back of a horse, and skinless with long arms that nearly touch the ground.” Logan paused, and then adjusted his tie. “Riding with the dullahan will be much faster than proceeding on foot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus’ gaze flicked between Logan and the carriage. “Alright, fine,” he relented, “but if we get stuck in a stray plotline I’m blaming you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On the contrary,” Logan said, climbing into the carriage and sitting opposite the other passengers, “according to folklore, the dullahan is merely an omen of death, not the cause of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so we’re just gonna die later instead of now? How very reassuring.” Janus followed him into the carriage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no need to be so pessimistic, we are Sides, and these are merely constructs of the Imagination, they cannot do any lasting damage to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever,” Janus said casually, settling into a seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was the crack of a whip, and then the carriage started off again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus glanced at the driver and then back at Logan with a raised eyebrow. “He’s got a whip made of human spines and you’re telling me not to worry? Sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan frowned, taking in Janus’ restless movements and the way he was constantly adjusting his capelet and his clothes. He reached out and set a hand on Janus’ shoulder. “Remus is going to be okay,” he said gently. “If he got caught up in the story and got injured, we will get him back to the main mindscape and patch him up. We will be fine. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He</span>
  </em>
  <span> will be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus sighed heavily, slumping back into the seat. “I know. It’s just that Remus never gets himself into this kind of trouble. I hesitate to imagine the sort of things that could’ve caught him off guard enough to get hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s possible he simply lost focus for a moment and something took advantage of that,” Logan said. He removed his hand from Janus’ shoulder, watching him fidget with his gloves</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it makes you feel any better,” said the lady passenger, drawing their attention, “Remus has plot armor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Plot armor?” Janus asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it means that whatever’s got him can beat ‘im up all they like and Remus won’t ever die because he’s too important,” she said. A droplet of blood creeped from the corner of her mouth, and she delicately wiped it away with a handkerchief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s practically god here,” the man confirmed, “and you can’t just kill god with a whack to the head.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, of course,” Janus said. The furrow between his brows had lessened, but he still seemed worried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan opened his mouth to say something when a low, spine-chilling roar sounded through the forest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! That would be the nuckelavee,” the lady passenger said brightly, as cheerful as ever. “Hey, dullahan?” she called, raising her voice. “Can you pick up the pace, love, it’ll catch up any minute now! Thank you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whip cracked again, and Logan felt apprehension weigh heavily in his stomach as the noise of the nuckelavee grew louder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Janus hissed. “What do we do if it catches up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The nuckelavee supposedly hates freshwater, so we would simply have to find a river to cross,” Logan said over the thunder of the horses’ hooves and the rattling of the wheels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, ‘just find a river to cross’ like that’s gonna be so easy!” Janus snarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something crashed through the underbrush of the forest that chased after them. Leafy debris whipped off of it to reveal a skinless monstrosity with wet and glistening masses of muscles and oozing black blood from yellow veins. The human head was too large and rolled around on its neck, jerking harshly with its movements, and the horse head had one glowing red eye that seemed to bore into them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aside from it’s horrifying appearance, it stank like nothing either side had smelled before; it stank worse than Remus’ room, more toxic than a landfill, and Logan coughed at the smell, covering his mouth and nose with the end of his tie to block it out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking hell, that smells awful,” Janus cursed, covering his mouth and nose with his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nasty little thing, isn’t it?” the lady passenger said, seemingly unaffected by the smell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was fast. It was really fast, and it was getting closer with each passing second. Concern began to swell in Logan’s chest, but he squashed it down, firmly telling himself that they would be fine, that nothing could hurt them. The creature raised an arm and oh, that was terribly long, wasn’t it? A bit closer and it might be able to grab at the carriage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced over at Janus and saw that he was staring at the nuckelavee, eyes wide with terror and chest heaving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Realizing that he was starting to lose Janus to fear, Logan turned to look at their surroundings, searching for a river. It took a moment, but past the bobbing necks of the headless horses he spied a place where the trees cleared a bit to make way for a small river.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just a bit further and we can cross a river,” he called to Janus, pointing to where he saw the river.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus’ eyes darted over to him, and Logan could see that focus had returned to him. Janus followed his finger to the river. “Ok, good, good. Just a bit further.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nuckelavee roared again, snapping their attention back to it. It swiped at the carriage, barely scratching at the back of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Janus swore again, shifting closer to the front of the carriage. “Can’t this thing go any faster?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan was helpless to do anything but watch as the creature drew ever closer, swiping at them with it’s too-long arms, and oh, this time it was actually going to grab the carriage-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only for the horses to crash into the water, splashing water at the creature’s legs. It stopped and reared up on its hind legs, growling furiously as the dullahan drew them further into the river.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan held onto the seat to avoid being thrown when the horses started to slow. He let out a sigh of relief as the river water pooled around their ankles when the nuckelavee huffed again and turned to leave, taking its stench with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It turned out the river was wide but relatively shallow; the water didn’t get much higher than their ankles where they were in the carriage at its deepest. At least they wouldn’t have to try wading through the river themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? I told you we’d be fine,” Logan told Janus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, we’re fine but only after getting frightened half to death,” Janus said, rolling his eyes. “And you can’t tell me you weren’t scared, Logan, you totally were.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, perhaps I was rather… concerned, but I knew we’d be fine,” Logan conceded. ”By the way, how close are we to Remus?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus closed his eyes, and after a couple moments they popped back open again. “We should probably get off the carriage  once we’ve finished crossing, we’re quite close now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent,” Logan said, leaning back in his seat. He turned to the other passengers. “Can you ask the dullahan to let us off when we reach the other side?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing!” the lady said, readjusting her head on her lap. “Do you wanna do it, love?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can do it,” the man said. “Oi, dullahan! Stop to let these people off when we get to the riverbank! Thank you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reached the other side of the river in short order, and sure enough, the carriage stopped to let them off. Logan grimaced at the feeling of his feet squishing wetly in his shoes. Once Janus was on the ground with him, the whip cracked and the horses started trotting off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>exceptionally</span>
  </em>
  <span> pleasant,” Janus drawled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan paused, parsing the tone and words. “I agree, that was somewhat unpleasant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The corner of Janus’ mouth twitched up in a smile. “Follow me, Remus totally isn’t this way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan followed Janus along the bank of the river, and after a few minutes they heard the sound of arguing, something about eating, he wasn’t sure. Carefully, they drew closer, and in a bit of clear space, they saw three people arguing, a couple standing in the river, and between them, lying half in the water-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus!” Janus shouted. He darted forward towards Remus, but Logan grabbed his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait a moment,” Logan said. “I’ve got this.” He cleared his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could speak, two of them shifted into horses and ran off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, must be kelpies,” Logan said, keeping his grip on Janus, who was trying very hard to get away and towards Remus. Logan raised his voice and said to the remaining kelpie. “You are a construct of the Imagination, and are therefore imaginary. Since you are imaginary, you do not exist, and therefore cannot harm us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a heartbeat of quiet, and then Janus said, “Don’t just stand there, Logan, let me go or do something!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I see why nothing happened,” Logan said. “Janus still thinks Remus could be hurt by the kelpie. Stand behind me for a moment.” He let go of Janus’ arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean, ‘stand behind you’, it’s coming toward us!” Janus hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got a plan,” Logan said simply. He concentrated and summoned a simple handgun with a silver bullet in it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that sort of plan,” Janus said faintly, stepping behind Logan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan smirked, and then levelled the gun at the kelpie. Ensuring that everything was properly loaded and the safety was off, he steadied the gun, aimed, and squeezed the trigger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kelpie shrieked, shifting back into a horse and then collapsing into a shrivelled up husk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence, and then Janus ran forward to Remus, and Logan let him go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus’ feet splashed in the water and he knelt beside Remus’ limp body, his pant legs getting wet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus, wake up!” Janus said, smacking the side of his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck! Fuck fuck </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Janus hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan knelt on the other side of Remus. He pressed his fingers to the inside of Remus’ wrist. “He still has a pulse. He’s most likely just unconscious, but I cannot say for certain until we get back to the main mindscape.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan’s calm demeanor kept Janus’ panic from ratcheting up further than it was, but only by a hair. Without thinking about it, Janus scooped up Remus into a bridal carry, ignoring how Remus’ water-logged clothes made him heavier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, the portal is so far away, how are we supposed to get past the nuckelavee a second time?” Janus said, the sibilants beginning to stretch out into a slight hiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus took a breath to go into a panicked rant when he felt the underpinnings of the mindscape shift, and he turned to see a portal open up nearby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, convenient,” Logan said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span> there’s a doorway near Remus,” Janus grumbled. “Sounds like some convenient plot bullshit to me.” He stood up and walked to the portal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan followed close behind him, and they came out next to the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus!” Roman shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my goodness, is everything alright?” Patton asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to clean him up and check him for injuries,” Logan told them. “Roman, can you fetch a soft and comfortable dry outfit for us to change Remus into? Janus, take him into the bathroom and start removing the wet clothes. Until he wakes up he can still be affected by physical ailments.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded and took Remus into the closest bathroom and set him in the tub. He summoned the rest of his arms, rolled up his sleeves, and set to work. Carefully, gently, Janus removed Remus water-drenched clothing. Due to the way Remus had been lying in the water, this meant all of it had to be set aside, including the underwear, so Janus laid a towel over him until they could get him dressed in dry clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It also meant that Janus got a look at all his injuries. For the most part, it was all light bruising and scratches, except for a couple deep gouges that bled sluggishly and a particularly nasty-looking wound on the back of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan came in with first aid once Janus had set aside all the clothing in a sopping wet pile, Roman following close behind with a pile of black and green cloth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They dried him off, cleaned up his injuries, patched him up, and got him dressed in the soft, dry clothing Roman had brought - a tshirt and sweatpants - while Roman hovered nervously in the doorway to the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus picked up Remus carefully and carried him out to the living room, where he laid him gently on the couch. Softly, almost tenderly, Janus reached out his hand and cupped Remus’ lax face, rubbing his cheek with his thumb. He let his hand linger there a moment and then withdrew, fingertips trailing over his skin as he pulled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan had finished updating the others on the situation. “All that’s left to do is wait until he wakes up. Hopefully it won’t be too long, I’d like to check him for a concussion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus settled into a chair, watching Remus like a hawk while Roman fretted and Patton fussed over all of them. He let Patton ply him with tea and blankets, knowing that this was Patton’s way of trying to alleviate his own worry by making sure everyone was comfortable. After Virgil had been informed of the situation, he elected to stay in his room, away from the building anxiety everyone else was exuding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like an eternity, but in reality it was perhaps half an hour at most before Remus shifted, groaning as he woke up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus was up and over to him in an instant, tea and blanket forgotten. “Are you alright, Remus?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus groaned again, beginning to shift into an upright position. “Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a train, and not in the fun way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus resisted asking the obvious question there. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re supposed to be more careful in the Imagination,” he scolded, frowning deeply. He helped steady Remus into a sitting position and then sat next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, you can stop worrying your snakey butt off, I’m fine, see?” Remus snapped and Janus saw all the scratches and bruises disappear, and his eyes were clear and focused. Remus seemed to realize his state of dress and smiled rakishly at Janus. “Oooh, did you undress me while I was unconscious? How kinky!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean it, Remus, you need to be more careful!” Janus snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus paused and looked at Janus’ face, searching his expression. After a moment his own face softened. “I really worried you, huh, Jan?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...you did,” Janus grumbled reluctantly. “Don’t scare me like that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww.” Remus kissed Janus sweetly on the lips and then wrapped his arms around him. “You really do love me! How disgusting,” Remus teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love you too,” Janus mumbled, embracing Remus and burying his face in the crook of his neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you’re alright, Remus,” Logan said. “I knew you’d be fine but you had us worried there for a bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Roman agreed. “It’s very unlike you to become the damsel in distress.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus laughed. “Now you know what it’s like to be on the other side of it!” he joked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead of laughing like Remus expected, Roman’s eyes went wide and then he looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced briefly at Patton and averted his gaze again. “I uh, I suppose I should be more careful, too. I… probably worried you a lot, Patton. Sorry about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww, I forgive you, Roman!” Patton said. “I know you just get excited in the Imagination sometimes, it’s okay!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil cleared his throat, having come back downstairs after sensing that the anxiety levels had decreased. “So uh, what caught you off guard enough that you got knocked out?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus brightened. “Oh! I found a shiny rock! Lemme show you!” He squirmed out of Janus’ hold, oblivious to the way the others blinked in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A rock,” Janus said slowly, watching as Remus first snapped himself into the wet clothes, grimaced, and snapped his clothes dry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You almost died for a rock?” Virgil asked disbelievingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep!” Remus chirped. He dug around in a pocket and withdrew the rock. “See?” The rock was smooth, and sparkled iridescent in the light. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe this,” Virgil said. “You scared the shit out of us for a rock.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a pretty cool rock,” Roman conceded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiled brightly. “I knew you’d get it!” He put the rock back in his pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it cuddle time yet?” Patton burst out, bouncing on his toes. “Everyone’s safe and back together and I just wanna hug all of you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s cuddle time. C’mon in here, daddy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yay!” Patton cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was fussing over cushions and pillows and positions, but they eventually settled into a configuration that pleased them; Janus and Roman on either side of Remus, Patton snuggled into Janus, Virgil leaning heavily on Roman, and after a little more fussing, Logan was tucked in against Patton. Janus would’ve preferred being alone with Remus, but after all, who was he to turn down all this free body heat? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan tugged some blankets over them, and it was mere minutes before the tiredness from stress got to Janus and he fell asleep tucked against Remus’ side while the other chattered softly around him.</span>
</p>
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